The Workshops

This is where the Benedictine motto of Ora et labora (prayer and work) is placed into service. The monks of Monte Irago fivide their time between prayer and work.

You may ask, what do you do? To begin with, we attend to the needs of the house: cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping and maintenance. We collaborate with the Diocese of Astorga in order to provide pastoral care for seven parishes in the area. In addition, we also have a series of additional projects and activities which fill our time.

We have a small printing press to reproduce the liturgical texts used daily. We have translated these texts from Latin into Spanish, French, English and German in order to provide understanding to the majority of pilgrims.

We also have a small bookshop which is open for an hour each day. Here, pilgrims will find small books on monastic spirituality and the Way of St.James. The bookshop is also a contact point for those wishing to speak to a monk regarding worries or who are seekign a word of faith for their pilgrimage.

We also have a workshop for restoring sculptures. To restore original beauty to a work of art which has been mistreated by time is a labour of patience, but also gratifying.

Finally, during the spring and summer months, we have a small vegetable garden which provides much of our food.